Sonim XP1 Blog

The Elephant Test

Chances are good that your mobile phone will never be stepped on by a four-ton elephant. But isn't it nice to know that if a pachyderm should suddenly opt to play footsie with your XP1 mobile phone, the XP1 will emerge from the experience unscathed? If you find that a little hard to believe, watch this "Elephant Test" video, which was shot in Germany and is the latest in our global series of XP1 Torture Tests.

A Little Less Evil

It's hard to keep up with the good news from Verizon Wireless news lately. When the company made their announcement last week that they'd be opening their network  to any  device and any application, the only gripe most people had was that Verizon runs a CDMA network. Now though, according to this report at The Consumerist, Verizon plans to make the move to GSM (the standard that most of the rest of the world uses.)  As The COnsumerist said, "It could just be us, but Verizon seems a little less evil lately."

Also from the article:

Verizon has announced that it would use the GSM-protocol LTE (Long Term Evolution) for their fourth-generation data services. Note, Verizon's LTE phones will not be backwards-compatible with the current GSM networks run by AT&T and T-Mobile. Both are expected to support LTE.

LTE is what you expect from a next generation of communications protocols: it can fit more information into less bandwidth than its predecessors. It is meant to reduce the complexity of wireless communication by converting both voice and data communications into packets using Internet Protocol. Loosely speaking, it competes with the WiMax standard being promoted by Sprint and Clearwire, a startup founded by Craig O. McCaw, the cellphone entrepreneur.

They key fact isn't anything technical here. LTE is the format that has been endorsed by the GSM Association, which coordinates the wireless standard used in most countries. And it has been endorsed by AT&T. What it means is that in a few years, you will be able to buy phones and switch them between the two largest wireless networks in the United States--Verizon and AT&T--as well as carriers in most of the world.

The announcement also means that for the first time, Verizon will share a platform with its corporate parent, European-telecom Vodafone. Vodafone is expected to be testing LTE well into 2009. The 4G phones should be available by 2010.

Google Is In! .... Maybe

No surprise here, but Google has indeed confirmed what everyone who's been following this story already knows: Google will compete to buy wireless spectrum in the forthcoming FCC auction,slated to be held in Mid-January.

The Financial Times reported that although Google has hinted that it is likely to offer at least $4.6bn for the most valuable piece of spectrum on offer "most observers believe that other recent events have reduced the incentive for it to bid more aggressively, and that Verizon Wireless remains the most likely eventual buyer."

Monday the 3rd is the deadline for bidders to file a private notice with the Federal Communications Commission if they want to take part in January's auction of the 700 megahertz spectrum. Bidders normally keep their intentions a closely guarded secret and the auction rules forbid any comments from Monday onwards.

Last week Verizon Wireless announced it would allow all apps and all devices to access its existing network starting in 2008.

"They're taking the [auction] condition and saying they can apply it to their whole network," said Blair Levin, a former FCC chief of staff and now an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus, according to the Financial Times. "The incentive for Google to bid has got less significant."

That might help to explain the timing of Verizon Wireless's surprise move, he and other analysts said, since it made an expensive bidding war less likely.

In a strong hint that Google does not feel it needs to win the auction, Mr Schmidt said: "No matter which bidder ultimately prevails, the real winners of this auction are American consumers who likely will see more choices than ever before in how they access the internet."

Verizon Plans to Be "Surprisingly Reasonable"

Ars Technica has a great followup on Verizon Wireless' announcement on Tuesday of its new open access plan for its network, slated to go into effect in early 2008.

A lot of questions have been asked about Verizon's intentions, and what specificitions/testing is required for a device to meet  the "minimum technical standard" Verizon will require in order to get approval to access the carrier's network.

According to Ars:

Early next year, the company will publish the technical standards needed to connect to the Verizon network. It will also host a conference with device developers to learn more about their needs and to help with any problems that arise. Verizon has also dropped another $20 million into its certification lab, and any device maker who wants to connect to Verizon's network will first need to be certified for proper network connectivity procedures. Nothing else will be checked.

All applications, operating systems, and runtime environments are supported so long as the devices connect properly to Verizon's CDMA network (they can make use of either the company's cellular and PCS bandwidth). The fee for certification of devices will be "surprisingly reasonable," we're told, and the program will be open to anyone. One Verizon exec went so far as to say that if someone builds a device in their basement on a breadboard, Verizon will test it and activate it. Smaller players will definitely be able to get in on the action, something that hasn't previously been possible."

Microsoft is also supporting the move. In a statement, the senior vice president of the Mobile Communications Business, Pieter Knook, said that "Microsoft is very excited to see Verizon Wireless make such a bold move to satisfy the demands of wireless consumers. As people's mobile needs become more sophisticated and varied, they will require smarter and more adaptable mobile devices. We are proud to support any open access that puts more power in people's hands to connect them to the information they want when and where they want it."

Verizon frees phones!

In an announcement that stunned everyone in the wireless communications industry, Verizon WIreless has just announced that customers will be able to use any application and (almost) any device on the carriers network, starting early next year.

This is amazing news, as Verizon Wireless has always kept a very firm grip -- more so than any of the big four carriers -- on what services and devices  its customers could access.

This move means that America's wireless business is going to change, soon, and in big and very wonderful ways.

According to Verizon's press release this is what's going to happen:

In early 2008, the company will publish the technical standards the development community will need to design products to interface with the Verizon Wireless network. Any device that meets the minimum technical standard will be activated on the network. Devices will be tested and approved in a $20 million state-of-the-art testing lab which received an additional investment this year to gear up for the anticipated new demand. Any application the customer chooses will be allowed on these devices.

This new option goes beyond just a change in the design, delivery, purchase, and provisioning of wireless devices and applications.

One limitation is that customers will have to use phones based on CDMA technology, rather than GSM. 

“This is a transformation point in the 20-year history of mass market wireless devices – one which we believe will set the table for the next level of innovation and growth,” said Lowell McAdam, Verizon Wireless president and chief executive officer. “Verizon Wireless is not changing our successful retail model, but rather adding an additional retail option for customers looking for a different wireless experience.”

The press release goes on to explain that Verizon Wireless "will continue to provide a full-service offering, from retail stores where customers can shop, to 24/7 customer service and technical support, to an easy-to-use handset interface and optimized software applications."

Many kudos to Verizon for making the first step to unlock and unblock America's wireless phone system.

Will They Or Won't They?

Interesting how everyone seemed to be cheering Google on when the company was first rumored to be making a bit for those coveted airwaves, the 700-megahertz spectrum which is slated to be auctioned Jan. 24. But now that Google is edging ever nearer to confirming its intentions, the grumbling is starting.

Somewhere between now and December 3 Google will need to pay a required deposit if it wants to participate in the auction. Even then, as a Reuters news story points out, paying the deposit does not guarantee Google will submit a bid. Reuters sources estimate that, after paying 4+billion to buy the spectrum, Google would then need to invest 8-10 Billion to build a nationwide wireless network. That's assuming Google opts to go that route, alone, as the Wall Street Journal reports that Google (probably) will. According to the WSJ:

Google already is running a test version of an advanced wireless network at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, gaining operating experience that could come in handy if it wins the spectrum and decides to run a full-scale national mobile carrier, according to people familiar with the matter.

The behind-the-scenes moves illustrate just how serious the Internet giant is about trying to reshape the wireless world. Its push could potentially expand the availability and decrease the cost of high-speed mobile Internet access to consumers and broaden the wireless applications they can use.

At the same time, Google's wireless projects could take it far from its core expertise, at a big potential cost in money and management attention. They could also antagonize telecom carriers, some of whom have relationships with the company, and other Google partners, who might view the wireless push as a competitive threat. It remains possible that last-minute developments could alter Google's strategy between now and Dec. 3..."

Some are starting to say Google won't be bidding at all. Chetan Sharma, founder of Sharma Consulting, a firm that specializes in strategy and intellectual property consulting in the wireless industry, says in an interesting podcast that "Google will decline to bid on the block of 700MHz spectrum that the FCC will auction next year" and "The bidders will likely be the conventional wireless carriers and perhaps some cable TV companies." Sharma believes that despite all this "Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, shall become much more influential in the mobile space. The carriers will no longer have the near dominance that they historically have enjoyed."

Only in America

The New York Times is doing a great job of covering the quickly evolving world of wireless communications, specifically the apparently inevitable changing of the US networks into a more open system such as the ones that the rest of the world enjoys.

In their latest piece, Cellphone Straightjacket Is Inspiring a Rebellion, reporter Laura Holsen quotes Tim Wu, a professor at Columbia Law School, who said the relationship between software developers, carriers and handset makers must change because the way that consumers relate to their phones is changing too.

 “On a personal level, the phone feels more like property,” said Mr. Wu. “Once you start to make it yours, you feel like you have more rights to it. It will have a huge effect if you don’t feel free to do what they want.”

 His view is that now that entrants like Apple and Google are in the game, companies like AT&T and Verizon are going to have to adjust. “Little companies are not going to change industry practices,” said Mr. Wu. That happens, he said, “when you have big, powerful players with a different ideology.”

The piece also noted that running a network is no easy job, and basically hinted that the few companies who are qualified to run such a network are already doing so and aren't in favor of openness as they don't see as much potential for profit if consumers are given choices rather than force-fed specific services offered by those who have partnered with the big wireless carriers.

Roger Entner, a senior vice president for communications at IAG Research, was quoted as saying “An open network is really awesome if you don’t have to operate it.”

 This sort of attitude amazes me. If open networks are so fraught with complications and crisis and lack potential for profit – then isn't it funny how the rest of the world is managing just fine with their open wireless networks?

 

America's Wireless Market Will Never Really Be Open

I've been saying for awhile now that Google's anticipated bid for the 700 wireless spectrum is unlikely to result in an truly open American wireless service of the sort that much of the rest of the world already enjoys.

And now it seems that Google is forming alliances with the major carriers, who vehemently oppose wireless freedom, in order to get Google's own "Gphone" to market.

Red Herring has a good story on what's happening.

"…the search king has spent the last few months at odds with Verizon Wireless in a battle over regulatory rules. The outcome would affect an upcoming spectrum auction in which Google is expected to bid for a slice to create an open network.

“This is not what Frontline envisioned as an open network,” said a source close to Frontline Wireless, a consortium that plans to bid for spectrum in the upcoming auction and build an open network, commenting on a report.

The deal, according to The Wall Street Journal, would have Google marketing its own phone and licensing its own operating system and applications on Verizon and Sprint wireless networks, similar to the arrangement Apple has with AT&T for the iPhone.

There is a bright spot, reports Red Herring.

"Google appears to be open in one area: third-party apps. The search king’s phone is expected to be open so developers can create third-party applications and gain easier access to the mobile consumer market."

Not to toot my own horn too much, but I've been predicting that a (somewhat) open market for applications on mobile phones is about the best we can hope for in the American market. And that's one of the reasons Sonim Technologies is no longer doing business in the US. It's not a choice we made happily, but one we were forced into by the "Big Four" wireless carriers. There's simply no real opportunity for a small business to develop and market innovative mobile communications technologies in America's wireless market.

Verizon and CTIA's Amazing Coincidence

Broadband Reports has a good story up on Verizon dropping its lawsuit against the FCC.

As Broadband Reports points out, it's quite interesting that wireless association CTIA filed a very similar suit against the FCC on the exact same day that Verizon withdrew its suit.

According to media reports Verizon and CTIA have said its all a huge coincidence.

OK.Stranger things have happened. But it's really odd, isn't it, that the CTIA announced, shortly before filing that lawsuit, that it has just appointed a new board chairman -- Verizon Wireless CEO/president Lowell McAdam.

Phones Want To Be Free

"Free My Phone" is an outstanding article by Walter S. Mossberg, in the Wall Street Journal's online edition.

Mossberg writes:

A shortsighted and often just plain stupid federal government has allowed itself to be bullied and fooled by a handful of big wireless phone operators for decades now. And the result has been a mobile phone system that is the direct opposite of the PC model. It severely limits consumer choice, stifles innovation, crushes entrepreneurship, and has made the U.S. the laughingstock of the mobile-technology world, just as the cellphone is morphing into a powerful hand-held computer.

Whether you are a consumer, a hardware maker, a software developer or a provider of cool new services, it's hard to make a move in the American cellphone world without the permission of the companies that own the pipes. While power in other technology sectors flows to consumers and nimble entrepreneurs, in the cellphone arena it remains squarely in the hands of the giant carriers.

That's why I refer to the big cellphone carriers as the "Soviet ministries." Like the old bureaucracies of communism, they sit athwart the market, breaking the link between the producers of goods and services and the people who use them.

The entire piece is terrific -- read it now so you understand why wireless freedom matters and why the American wireless consumer is getting such a bad deal along with those "free" phones.